There are only a limited number of ways to terminate alimony or spousal support. Section 20-109(A) of the Virginia Code states that one of those ways is to show that, based upon clear and convincing evidence, the spouse receiving support has been habitually cohabiting with another person in a relationship analogous to a marriage for one year or more.
Given that gay marriage is now legal in Virginia, you might think that “cohabitating with another person in a relationship analogous to a marriage” applies to opposite-sex and same-sex couples alike. Not according to the Virginia Court of Appeals in the recent case of Luttrell v. Cucco.
Luttrell v. Cucco
In 2008, Michael Luttrell (Luttrell) and his wife Samantha Cucco (Cucco) obtained a divorce after being married for sixteen years. …show more content…
The law explicitly states that spousal support can be terminated if the spouse receiving alimony has been “habitually cohabitating with another person.” The law does not say “cohabitating with another person of the opposite sex.”
Second, although the statute requires that cohabitation be “analogous to a marriage,” marriage in Virginia now includes same-sex marriages. On October 6, 2014, the United States Supreme Court denied review in the case of Bostic v. Schaefer which ruled that Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Accordingly, the Bostic decision became good law and Virginia began issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples.
So, if Virginia law views marriage as including gay marriages, then the language in Section 20-109 that cohabitation “be analogous to a marriage” must necessarily include same-sex cohabitation. Nevertheless, the Virginia Court of Appeals chose to ignore this fact even though Bostic v. Schaefer had been decided prior to the decision in Luttrell v.
Given that gay marriage is now legal in Virginia, you might think that “cohabitating with another person in a relationship analogous to a marriage” applies to opposite-sex and same-sex couples alike. Not according to the Virginia Court of Appeals in the recent case of Luttrell v. Cucco.
Luttrell v. Cucco
In 2008, Michael Luttrell (Luttrell) and his wife Samantha Cucco (Cucco) obtained a divorce after being married for sixteen years. …show more content…
The law explicitly states that spousal support can be terminated if the spouse receiving alimony has been “habitually cohabitating with another person.” The law does not say “cohabitating with another person of the opposite sex.”
Second, although the statute requires that cohabitation be “analogous to a marriage,” marriage in Virginia now includes same-sex marriages. On October 6, 2014, the United States Supreme Court denied review in the case of Bostic v. Schaefer which ruled that Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Accordingly, the Bostic decision became good law and Virginia began issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples.
So, if Virginia law views marriage as including gay marriages, then the language in Section 20-109 that cohabitation “be analogous to a marriage” must necessarily include same-sex cohabitation. Nevertheless, the Virginia Court of Appeals chose to ignore this fact even though Bostic v. Schaefer had been decided prior to the decision in Luttrell v.